Venture capital firm BDMI, the wholly owned subsidiary of the media, services and education company Bertelsmann, has closed an investment in Book.io, the leader in NFT ebooks.

Book.io is creating the new platform for digital ownership in book publishing by putting ebooks and audiobooks on the blockchain through their proprietary technology, Decentralized Encrypted Assets (DEAs). Instead of the current licensing model in digital publishing, readers can own their digital books and sell them if they choose to do so, creating a secondary market where publishers and authors earn royalties on every resale in perpetuity. For the first time, publishers and authors will be able to generate income from digital “used book” sales. Launching its first book sale on July 20th, 2022, the total volume of secondary market sales has already surpassed over half a million dollars, including the sale of a single collectible ebook at over $4,000.

“This investment is more than just a capital injection,” said Joshua Stone, CEO. “It’s a partnership with a venture capital group, BDMI, that understands the value of intellectual property and has been investing in media for over 15 years. We have a huge vision for Book.io with our product roadmap expanding well beyond ebooks to include audiobooks and other types of digital media in the future. We look forward to building our relationship with BDMI and their network of media experts throughout Bertelsmann.”

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“This investment is more than just a capital injection.” – Joshua Stone, CEO.

Keith Titan, Partner at BDMI, added “We are excited to be part of the Book.io team via our recent investment. We have been closely following the explosion of NFTs in various media including images, video and music, and now Book.io is forging a new market for NFT ebooks. Their initial NFT ebook releases quickly sold out and generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales with an immediately active secondary market as well. Josh and Ben are delivering on their mission to launch innovative digital products that will attract both traditional book buyers and a whole new group of ebook collectors. We look forward to helping Book.io continue their success.”

Book.io is working diligently to build an ebook and audiobook marketplace, mobile reading apps, and a self-service portal for publishers and authors. They are in discussions with various international publishing houses and New York Times bestselling authors to release their titles on the platform this fall.

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